When someone calls on you to ‘step out of your\ncomfort zone’ I don’t see it as an advice to run out and do crazy things or at\nonce confront all of your deepest fears. To me it is a useful prompt to let go\nof all the patterns, habits and things that we build up over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not knowing what will happen next \u2013 being insecure\n\u2013 isn’t something to run away from, but rather a state to embrace. How can you\never craft your personal life story and know who you really are, if you always\nplay it safe? And know beforehand where you will end up? At my non profit\ninitiative the Young Lady Business Academy I see it all the time: the prospect\nto do or want something that the outside world might not approve of \u2013\ninsecurity! – is crippling. Girls strive much more so than boys to confirm all\nthe time and in every way to the ideal picture. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My mission? To equip girls with the courage to\ndeal with that insecurity. And to think outside of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I were a scientist, I’d devote all my energy to\nresearching ‘Why are girls relatively more sensitive to outside pressure?’ And:\n‘How can you help them to grow the self confidence necessary to withstand that\nexternal pressure? And to follow their own path?’ At the Young Lady Business\nAcademy we don’t tackle these questions from a scientific viewpoint but from a\npurely practical angle. By bringing ambitious girls in contact with successful\ntop women like Neelie Kroes (a Dutch business women who had a career in\nnational and European politics) and have her share the rockiness of her path,\nwe open the girls eyes to the possibilities in life and hope that their courage\nwill overcome their insecurity. And indeed, for a lot of them the Academy\nprovides that crucial boost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With great anticipation I am looking forward to\nthe Young Lady Business Academy 4.0, taking place July 1st<\/sup> \u2013 5th<\/sup> at the\nRotterdam Erasmus Center for Entrepreneurship. Not only am I looking forward to\ninspiring a maximum of sixty participants to follow the path to their dream\ncareer, I also hope to inch a bit closer to the answer that I have been looking\nfor so long: what is holding these girls back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n